Swedbank AB Boosts Stock Position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT)

Swedbank AB raised its position in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 146,236 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 409 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.06% of Hilton Worldwide worth $33,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Hilton Worldwide in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. NewSquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the second quarter worth $37,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide during the second quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hilton Worldwide in the third quarter valued at $38,000. 95.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HLT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hilton Worldwide from $230.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $237.00 to $232.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Hilton Worldwide from $265.00 to $256.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Melius Research reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Hilton Worldwide in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Melius cut shares of Hilton Worldwide from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hilton Worldwide currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $228.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hilton Worldwide news, insider Laura Fuentes sold 4,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.00, for a total transaction of $1,067,423.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,949 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,460,933. This represents a 23.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael W. Duffy sold 14,357 shares of Hilton Worldwide stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.73, for a total transaction of $3,384,375.61. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,382,423.09. The trade was a 38.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.50% of the company’s stock.

Hilton Worldwide Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HLT opened at $253.66 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $237.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.94. The firm has a market cap of $61.84 billion, a PE ratio of 54.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.30. Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.25 and a 12-month high of $255.86.

Hilton Worldwide (NYSE:HLT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Hilton Worldwide had a net margin of 10.70% and a negative return on equity of 60.85%. Hilton Worldwide’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hilton Worldwide Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. Hilton Worldwide’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.88%.

Hilton Worldwide announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, November 14th that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 5.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hilton Worldwide Profile

Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, a hospitality company, engages in managing, franchising, owning, and leasing hotels and resorts. It operates through two segments, Management and Franchise, and Ownership. The company engages in the hotel management and licensing of its brands. It operates luxury hotels under the Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, LXR Hotels & Resorts, and Conrad Hotels & Resorts brand; lifestyle hotels under the Canopy by Hilton, Curio Collection by Hilton, Tapestry Collection by Hilton, Tempo by Hilton, and Motto by Hilton brand; full service hotels under the Signia by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and DoubleTree by Hilton brand; service hotels under the Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton by Hilton, and Tru by Hilton brand; all-suite hotels under the Embassy Suites by Hilton, Homewood Suites by Hilton, and Home2 Suites by Hilton brand; and economy hotel under the Spark by Hilton brand, as well as Hilton Grand Vacations.